A Juggling Act: Balancing Graduate School, Jobs, and Life
As I type this, I’m on my third cup of coffee, and I think I slept during that last nap. I can’t really remember. I’m one of the many Ooligan students who work in the professional realm while also pursuing a master’s degree, which means constantly trying to balance and prioritize schedules while facing an endless string of sleepless nights and pots (and pots) of coffee. Now I’m a special snowflake, because I actually work three jobs that all involve complicated children and exist in different quadrants of Portland. But I digress. Ultimately, what I have found through juggling full-time graduate school, multiple jobs, and an attempt at a social life is that I am gathering skills that will serve me well for the rest of my life. Every graduate student I know who also practices a balancing act, whether at Ooligan or otherwise, is learning what it means to get stuff done—and be creative while doing so. By building up our professional resumes while pursuing our education, we are able to provide unique and valuable insight into successful strategies, and we experience what the real world is actually like.